014 | A Whole New World

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Exploring the world
When: All day June 26
Where: The Near Shore (All Over)
Summary: So many shrines have popped up! Go visit your homelands!



The Heavens have received reports of many shrines to the "new gods" they are harboring appearing all over the world. These shrines seem to be additional, new shrines to those gods. Older shrines to those gods still exist, but these ones are shiny, new, and way more compatible with the "new gods". God characters, as well, will have felt the sudden pull towards their homelands and be compelled to travel to them. But the Heavens have taken it a step farther, offering the Meeting Hall as a place for gods and shinki to group up and go out for the day to the various places that are now calling out to them.

Please ignore the fact that they are mostly doing this so that you all will collect information for them without their begging for it or having to reward you.



Meeting Hall

The Meeting Hall is being used as a sort of hub right now. Any groups that are planning to meet up and travel together can meet here, but you might also find someone who's going somewhere you'd like to and tag along with them. Additionally, the Heavens have provided packed lunches for everyone to take with them, should they desire to. This also serves as a meeting place for all of the new gods and shinki.

Locals

Local pantheons have been alerted to the impending visitors. They are happy to welcome their brethren home and are likely to make a big fuss about their brothers and sisters staying with them. Local gods are welcome to be interpreted however you would like, just be sure not to NPC any god that is already taken by a god player. Also, you may find yourself running into some local spirits during your sight-seeing - including local ayakashi and various folklore spirits.

Flyers

They may not stick out at first, but those who are paying attention will notice that there are a large number of flyers being left around at their new shrines. Heck, even walking through the human towns, you will find flyers scattered on the ground and pinned to cork boards and nailed to telephone poles. All bear the same message: "Down with the Heavens. Down with Amaterasu." The locals gods are well versed in the flyers, saying that there have been some strange characters around throwing these flyers at anyone who will give them the time of day. Even humans will note that some shady-looking people have been putting up these strange posters.

Destruction

Whether you return early because of boredom, never left because you're uninterested, or late because you've been having fun, the middle of the night will bring an interesting sight to all. The Heavens will find themselves under attack - in the form of a large fire set at the temple of Amaterasu herself. The entire home is going up in flames and no one knows where Amaterasu is. They're asking for help in dousing the fire or even entering the burning home to find the small goddess and possibly look for the saboteurs, though the only people who are still around are Amaterasu's shinki, in varying states of distress and consciousness.

Note: Who will discover Amaterasu will be decided randomly on 3/20/17 OOC. At that point, a follow-up post will be made by Amaterasu herself.

In Summary:

• Explore the world
• Get to know your homelands
• Investigate insurgents
• Deal with a riot
• Save Amaterasu
• Have fun~

Comments

[nibelungvalesti]

"It is quite likely your gods exist, yet pay no heed to the mortal realm." Ever imperious, the Valkyrie's words also sharpened. That and the faint narrowing of her eyes said how little she approved.

[revolutionfalcon]

"If they paid no heed to the kinds of things that went on in my world, then they're the kind of gods who don't deserve to exist in that kind of position or with that kind of power anyway."

While the imperiousness of Lenneth's tone doesn't seem to put Shun off any, his own is incredibly bitter as he says that. It's not like they're going to be having any kind of disagreement about it, judging by the look on her face.

[nibelungvalesti]

"A fair statement." No... no, she did not disagree.

Lenneth frowned at the pyramid as they approached. Its outside had long since crumbled, presenting a tricky path upwards for Shun and his inability to fly. Still, having misjudged once already, she said nothing and instead looked over to him, awaiting his suggestion as to how he might surmount the summit.

[revolutionfalcon]

It's a tricky path, though one Shun could probably navigate given the time. However, he has no real interest in wasting that much of it trying to pick his way up the path when there's an obvious alternate option, and as they walk, he scans the upper area of the temple.

There's a small plateau of rock near the top where a section of the outside has worn out badly enough compared to what's under it that there's a marked difference in how far recessed each one is. With a brief glance to Lenneth, his way of indicating he's taking the obvious opportunity, Shun disappears from her side, reappearing instead on said small, flat area.

As high and dangerous as the perch is, he doesn't seem bothered at all.

[nibelungvalesti]

"...I do not see why you did not do that from the start." All the grief he gave her over flight, and he simply could have traveled to it without hesitation?

The Valkyrie rose into the air, just far enough to surmount the plateau herself, then dropped down next to him.

[revolutionfalcon]

"Because if I chose the wrong place to land, I doubt I would've had time to reconsider my decision."

Shun might be used to falling down things, but he'll pass on the experience of falling down the side of a pyramid. The massive flight of stairs in his world was bad enough.

Since they're here now, though, Shun turns to look at the pyramid proper.

"So, you're the one who's supposedly sensing something in here. You probably have a better shot at getting us in without whatever you're sensing ambushing us."

[nibelungvalesti]

"Anything that meets us will regret doing so."

Without much particular consideration for stealth or care, Lenneth rose from their their little ledge up to the top, then dropped into the hole in the pyramid's topmost flat level and quickly vanished from sight down the long, narrow shaft.

[revolutionfalcon]

Well, that's one way to do it. With a slight sigh of exasperation - it's not like he isn't reckless himself, but he at least usually has some sense about it - Shun heads up to the door as well, dropping inside behind Lenneth. As he isn't flying like her and has no idea exactly how long the drop is, he arranges himself so he's in contact with two sides of the wall and ready to stop himself at a moment's notice if necessary.

[nibelungvalesti]

The Valkyrie was not reckless in the slightest -- this was how a Battle-Maiden did business. Luckily, the shaft was only something like fifteen feet deep, with Lenneth at the bottom waiting for him as her eyes scanned the poorly-lit tomb. "It is below us," she said without preamble.

[revolutionfalcon]

Even with the drop relatively short, Shun digs his heels into the wall to slow himself down a bit before the drop comes. It can't be good for the wall, but if there's supposed to be 'something evil' in here, he doubts that's going to be particularly good for the structure of the ancient building either.

Shun's own eyes scan over the area as well - he's used to poor light, so he can make out most of what's in the room despite that.

"How far?"

[nibelungvalesti]

"It is difficult to tell precisely." No apology for the imprecision of her ability. If Shun wanted to identify the physical location of something by letting it scrap against his soul and then heading towards the source of the pain, he could then complain about it.

[revolutionfalcon]

Isn't it always. While Shun doesn't look terribly impressed, he also doesn't look surprised, instead letting out a slight sigh and stepping carefully forward into the room, feeling his way with his foot first to make sure the floor isn't about to cave in on him.

"Then we do it the hard way. Come on."

[nibelungvalesti]

"What would you consider the easy way?" the Valkyrie asked, legitimately curious as she stalked on past. The worries of architecture didn't affect her; she was far too resilient to fear a fall.

[revolutionfalcon]

"There isn't really an 'easy' way in a fight, but sometimes you have some idea what you're going up against and where it is." There's something almost weary to Shun's tone at that, as if he's been through enough battles to be familiar with how things usually go. And while he's still being cautious in his movements enough for Lenneth to walk ahead, he's certainly not going slow enough to hold things up.

[nibelungvalesti]

"It matters little. If enemies stand in your way, you cut them down. If obstacles impede your progress, you overcome them."

This topmost hall was short, and ended in yet another chute. Rather than jump directly down, however, Lenneth considered it thoughtfully, then draw back a hand and conjured power within it. The blue crystal she flicked forward exploded outwards when it struck the wall of the chute, into a bloom of ice.

"A moment, and I will investigate," she said, hurling another crystal into the mass of ice so that it blossomed into an even larger crystal. When she hurled the third, the whole mass shattered violently -- but she'd jumped onto it in almost the same motion, and beneath her feet the shards of ice formed a glittering platform that swiftly dropped her out of sight.

"As I suspected," came her voice a moment later. "I have created an ice barrier that will prevent you from falling down the shaft further, when you jump."

[revolutionfalcon]

"You're not wrong about either of those things, but being able to strategise can mean the difference between life and death when you're not some kind of immortal."

And even though this place claims Shun is one now, it's obvious from his tone that he doesn't buy it and hasn't since he got here. His life and experience are from the point of view of a human, and changing just like that isn't in his nature.

As Lenneth starts throwing around her ice powers, Shun stands a little to one side to ensure he doesn't get in the way, his eyes following her every motion and the movements of the ice. When she drops down the chute, he steps over to the edge, listening to her comment from down there before leaping down the chute himself.

"What's as you suspected?" He's already trying to look down to what's further beneath them, to see what they're likely to be dealing with.

[nibelungvalesti]

"There is a ledge here, but the hole I leaped down has no floor directly beneath it. Had I jumped, I would have fallen to a lower floor. I suspect it was a trap."

A simple enough explanation? She privately wished he'd hurry.

"One must do what one must do," she said, picking up the first thread of conversation as if it had never been dropped. "Whether one has the information one wants or not."

[revolutionfalcon]

"Either a trap, or just what comes of jumping down holes in the ground in a building that's thousands of years old." Shun's tone is a little on the dry side, even if he can respect the caution well enough. It seems like a foregone conclusion to him to expect something along those lines.

In any case, they can only hang around on the ice ledge so long, and Shun crouches down briefly to look to where they'll need to get to to actually get onto the floor they want.

"I know that. I wouldn't still be here if I didn't."

[nibelungvalesti]

"It is the former. It appears deliberately constructed."

Lenneth leaped casually over to the ledge they were about equal height to, turning back to face him. "Can you make this jump, or use your transport ability to do so?"

[revolutionfalcon]

"With something that old, I'm surprised you can even tell." Even so, Shun doesn't actually question it, especially since it'll just waste time they don't really have.

Rather than answer Lenneth's question directly, Shun finds the center of the ledge he's currently on, brings one foot back to the rear edge, and uses what small amount of momentum he can get to propel a more than adequate leap over to the ledge she's already on, landing neatly on his feet with a dismissive huff.

"Don't ask stupid questions."

[nibelungvalesti]

"I do not."

The answer was the only provocation she allowed, and she delivered it matter-of-factly as she turned to advance into the pyramid once more. A faint noise in the distance ahead of them did not stop her, but she drew her sword once more in anticipation of whatever awaited them.

[revolutionfalcon]

For all his rudeness, Shun's definitely not trying to start something for the hell of it here, so he doesn't pursue the lack of reaction. In fact, he actually inclines his head slightly as if in approval of how little she's let it affect her as he starts heading onwards into the pyramid as well.

While Shun doesn't have a sword to draw in the wake of that sound, he does have a dagger that comes from his pocket into his hand with barely a whisper of noise, and his entire stance tenses that little bit in readiness for an attack to come.

[nibelungvalesti]

Stepping forward through a narrow archway put them in what must surely be a burial chamber, for several sarcophagi leaned up against the walls, their carved features impassive and blank as they stared down at the pair.

They were also shuddering, as whatever dwelt within them moved to break free of their prisons of stone and metal and emerge.

[revolutionfalcon]

That's not particularly reassuring, though if it's dead bodies they're supposed to be dealing with here, Shun already knows he can handle that. While he doesn't put away his dagger, he does bring it down to his side, instead leading his combative posture with an open, empty hand as if prepared to grab at something.

"If someone had said before I came to this place I was going to have this much experience fighting dead people, I would've thought they were insane."

[nibelungvalesti]

"They are established foes of the heavens," Lenneth said matter-of-factly -- even as the stone lids tilted to the side or clattered to the ground in a deafening clangor. Mummies pulled themselves free, their hands withered and their bodies wrapped in decaying bandages as the ayakashi-animated undead loomed outwards.